When the Eagles show opened PPL Center on Sept. 12, it was more than a concert -- it was an event. It was without question an uplifting night for Allentown, not just because of the music but also because of the excitement. The sold-out crowd was electric. Then there was the concert. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group -- which once was such a mighty force in music that it sold 60 million albums in the 1970s and became the third-best-selling band of all time -- was back on tour after just one studio album in 35 years. That put the band in much the same situation as Allentown -- a city that is decades removed from its glory years and is looking to reassert itself. Both were pretty impressive at the arena's first event.

PHANTOMS OPENER

The home season opener Friday, Oct. 17 brought to fruition years of dreams, hopes and promises that professional hockey could come to downtown Allentown. Like the arena's opening night with The Eagles, the atmosphere was electric. But unlike the concert, this was the start of a long-term relationship between the Lehigh Valley and it own team. To make it even better, The Phantoms beat the Adirondack Flames, the team that moved into the Phantoms' former home in Glens Falls, N.Y., 4-3 in overtime.

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS

The Eagles was the perfect show to open Allentown's PPL Center. But Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers was the perfect act for the arena's second event. Or any beyond that. While the Eagles played a set that was pleasingly precise in re-creating all its hits, Petty played a far more raucous show that often shook, not soothed, the nearly sold-out crowd. And while the Eagles looked backed through their career, Petty looked forward — even when playing hits that sometimes were nearly 35 years old. Petty and the six-man Heartbreakers ripped through an 18-song, hour-and-45-minute set with intensity.

NEIL DIAMOND

Neil Diamond certainly isn't the newest artist, but he's the third-best-selling adult contemporary artist of all time, and his staying power is hard to match. To have him in the new arena, for two nights – Feb. 27 and March 1 -- starting a tour national tour was a coup. And his concert lived up to that lofty expectation: In an ambitious set that lasted two hours and covered 27 songs from throughout his 50-year career — including four from his strong new album "Melody Road" — Diamond still conveyed all those emotions. And the added years added gravitas.

PROFESSIONAL BULL-RIDERS

Anyone who though the new PPL Center was just for hockey and concerts, the arena rattled those conventions early by bringing in a two-night competition of the Professional Bull Riders on Oct. 10-11. It was the first event that showed the arena could be used in multiple ways, and draw crowds for them. It set the path for the monster truck shows, Ringling Brothers Circus and more that would come later. It also was an event that showed off the arena to the nation: as the last event in the 26-date regular season before the World Finals, the event was shown on CBS-TV and CBS Sports Network.